Bed and breakfast availability
Aberaeron b&b, guesthouse and hotel accommodation

Visit Aberaeron and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Aberaeron, Ceredigion. The name is also spelt Aberayron. This small port on the coast at the mouth of the Afon Aeron is a rarity in Wales, a town that was built to a set plan and laid out, moreover, in the early 19^th century during one of the best periods of British architecture. The result is wholly delightful. Aberaeron, however, contains no masterpiece of the Regency. The houses are generally small and two-storeyed, but they are grouped round a square, or in terraces overlooking the harbour against a background of green hills. The present inhabitants are aware of their heritage. In common with many of the smaller towns of Wales, Aberaeron has expanded with the growth of the tourist trade, and there are caravan parks North and South of the town. But there is every hope that future expansion will be orderly, in keeping with the spirit that first created the town.

Aberaeron was a place of little importance until about 1807, when Susannah and Alban Thomas Jones of Ty-Glyn, who had inherited a fortune, obtained parliamentary sanction to build piers and a harbour at the mouth of the River Aeron. The little town grew swiftly. The names Regent Street and Waterloo Street indicate the date of their construction, although one of the pleasantest parts of the town, Alban Square, was not built until the 1850s. By this time the pattern was set. Inevitably the plans have been attributed to John Nash, who was known to have visited the neighbourhood. But there is no evidence firmly connecting him to the place. The present Harbour-master Hotel, one of the first buildings to be put up, was originally the Harbour Master's house. The Town Hall, which overlooks the harbour, is an elegant brown-stone building.

The harbour itself dries out at low tide. The once-celebrated box-ferry in which visitors were slowly cranked across a wire cable suspended over the water, has been discontinued. The harbour is now entirely devoted to yachting, but in the 19^th century was a busy centre of shipbuilding. Aberaeron made a reputation for its schooners, especially those constructed by the master builder, David Jones. The great days of the port ended when the railways destroyed the coastal trade of West Wales. Aberaeron is now a holiday and residential place, and the old breed of retired sea captains who seemed to be the main inhabitants in the old days is dying out. The houses have been painted in light colours according to a plan. The churches and chapels are not quite in the Regency tradition. The church seems a little out of character in its Gothic garb of the l870s. The beach is a storm beach, composed of rounded pebbles.

About 1 mile North of Aberaeron is the place it supplanted, Aberarth. The village is tucked into a hollow, with a stream tumbling through it. The village church of Llandewi Aberarth contains the graves of Susannah and Thomas Jones. Between Aberarth and Aberaeron, on the coast, is the site of Castell Cadwgan, one of the castles of that lax and unfortunate l2^th century prince, Cadwgan ap Bleddyn. whose son Owain abducted Nest, the glamorous wife of Gerald of Pembroke and let loose a series of feuds and petty wars that were to trouble South-West Wales for thirty years.

Nearby towns: Aberystwyth, Lampeter, New Quay, Tregaron

Nearby villages: Aberarth, Abermeurig, Betws Ifan, Brongwyn, Capel Bettws Lleucu, Capel Cynon, Cellan, Cilcennin, Ciliau-Aeron, Cribyn, Cross Inn, Cwmann, Cwrtnewydd, Dihewyd, Gartheli, Henfynyw, Llanarth, Llanddeiniol, Llanddewi Brefi, Llanerchaeron, Llangrannog, Llangwyryfon, Llangybi, Llanina, Llanon, Llanrhystud, Llansantffraid, Llanwnen, Llwyndafydd, Mydroilin, Oakford, Penbryn, Pennant, Penuwch, Rhydlewis, Sarnau, Silian, Synod Inn, Talgarreg, Talsarn, Temple Bar, Trefilan, Ystradmeurig

Have you decided to visit Aberaeron or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:

• a Aberaeron bed and breakfast (a Aberaeron B&B or Aberaeron b and b)
• a Aberaeron guesthouse
• a Aberaeron hotel (or motel)
• a Aberaeron self-catering establishment, or
• other Aberaeron accommodation